


Putting the Band Back Together

by mascaret



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Angst, Complete, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 6,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10888365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mascaret/pseuds/mascaret
Summary: Reddington has been poisoned.  He refuses to believe it is Dembe, but if not Dembe then who? *complete*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Set post 'The Apothecary' pre "Dembe Zuma'. Became au with the airing of 'Dembe Zuma'

_Chapter 1_

 

“It's not Dembe.”

Gently, Elizabeth pointed out. “Who else had the knowledge and the access?”

“It's _not_ Dembe.” Reddington said it again and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

Cooper frowned. “ _If_ that's true – and I don't think that it is - we may have managed to stop the poison, but we are still no closer to figuring out who it is targeting you.”

As the nearby elevator dinged, Reddington opened his eyes to find Ressler and Aram carrying in his doppelganger. He commented. “I take it I am about to have a relapse.”

Cooper nodded. “It's time to play possum. Let word get out that you're dead. See who that shakes out. See who steps forward to take credit.”

Reddington nodded. He was still having trouble catching his breath. “I have a safe -”

Cooper cut him off. “- No. We're not using any of your resources or any of your people. We're going low key with your protection to try to fly under the radar. Reports of your death are already starting to be leaked.”

“How low key?” Reddington asked.

“Very low key. Keen, get him out of here. The rest of the task force will be staying with the other you. ”

Lizzie gave him a shoulder to lean on, but before they could get out the door, Cooper added one final insult. “I'm going to need your hat.”

Raymond looked in horror at the baseball cap Cooper offered him in trade.

As, they entered the elevator just the two of them, he asked. “Where are we going?”

“You wanted to see my new place. There's no time like the present.”

Raymond shook his head. “I won't put you and Agnes in danger.”

“You won't. Tom took Agnes away for a few days.”

_OOO_

 

 

Not that he looked like he could make it anywhere on his own … still Liz told him. “Wait here while I do a quick sweep of the apartment.”

She left him leaning against the wall outside her door as she entered from the back through the kitchen. Entering the living room, Liz spotted her.

_That hadn't taken long_ was Liz's first thought seeing her. 

“Mr. Kaplan!”

 

 

_tbc_

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

 

“Mr. Kaplan! Dembe told me you were dead – that Reddington killed you!”

As she spoke, Mr. Kaplan tucked her hair behind her ear to highlight her scar. “As Anslo Garrick could once attest - Raymond is a lousy shot.”

Liz didn't know where to begin. She started with the most recent development. “Are you the one that poisoned Reddington?”

Mr. Kaplan looked sad and … offended. “No.”

“I don't understand. What are you doing here?”

“Several years ago Raymond put together a protocol I was to follow in the event of his death. I heard the news about Raymond. I came to fulfill his last wishes. I'm here to give you all the answers that Raymond never could bring himself to – about himself, about your mother, and about you.”

Liz's eyes widened. “I'm listening.”

She was so eager to hear more, so distracted, she forgot … until she heard Reddington's voice just before he stumbled into the room.

“Lizzie, what's wrong? What's taking so long?”

 

 

_tbc_

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

“Lizzie, what's wrong? What's taking so long?”

Gun in hand, Reddington stumbled into the room.

Mr. Kaplan's gaze went to Reddington. Her lips pursed. “I thought you were dead.”

Lowering his gun, a stunned Reddington said it back to her. “I thought _you_ were dead. I thought I killed you.”

Liz waited for Reddington to ask Mr. Kaplan the same question Liz had asked – was she the one responsible for the attempts on Reddington's life and business.

He didn't. Instead, stumbling forward, he just put his arms around her. Holding her tightly, he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Looking like she was still trying to make up her mind about the situation, Mr. Kaplan didn't pull away, but nor did she embrace him back. Not until his legs started to collapse under him and she found herself holding him up. Liz rushed to help her get him to the couch and into a reclining position.

Reddington grabbed hold of Mr. Kaplan's hand. “Dembe is missing. I don't know where he is and ... someone is trying to kill me, Kate.”

He said the two things in the order in which they were important to him. He said them almost as if the two things were coincidental – as if they couldn't possibly be related. In his mind, the idea that Dembe was missing _because_ he had tried to kill Reddington still wasn't even a possibility.

Mr. Kaplan did the same. Seemingly having made up her mind, she brushed her free hand across his temple. “Well, we can't have that, dearie. We'll find Dembe and then we'll find who ever it is that's out to get you.”

Liz couldn't believe it. Just like that, Mr. Kaplan was back in the band.

 

_tbc_

 


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

 

“I see you pulled out your IV on your own.” Mr. Kaplan didn't look impressed.

Reddington's hand had a handkerchief tied around it.

“That doctor was taking too long. He kept talking and wanting to run tests. I don't have time for that. I need to find Dembe which –“ Reddington swung his legs down off the sofa and tried to get up. “ - I'm not going to do by laying here!”

Liz started to rush to try to stop him, but Mr. Kaplan waved a hand to ward her off. Instead, she let him try and fail to stand.

“I know you are worried about Dembe, but Raymond, you need to slow down. Take a moment. Breath. You look like you haven't slept or eaten in days – I'm sure because you _haven't_ slept or eaten in days.”

Sinking back down onto the sofa, Reddington sounded incredibly frustrated. “Kate, Dembe is missing _because_ of me. Either the person behind this has Dembe or Dembe found some sort of clue and has gone off after that person on his own.”

Calmly - as if it was going to be the easiest thing in the world – Mr. Kaplan suggested. “Then to find Dembe all we have to do is figure out who is targeting you.”

Reddington looked like he was going to continue to argue, but reluctantly he nodded.

Liz hadn't appreciated before what a stabilizing influence Mr. Kaplan was on Reddington.

In a no nonsense tone, she told him. “I am going to bandage that hand properly, you are going to eat something, and then we will figure this out.”

She turned to Liz. “Elizabeth, where is your first aid kit?”

Watching Reddington's poorly bandaged hand seep blood onto her sofa cushion, Liz didn't offer to get it for her. Instead, she lied. “In the kitchen. Under the sink.”

She waited until Mr. Kaplan had left the room before pretending to remember. “I think Tom may have moved the kit when he started baby proofing the kitchen. I'll be right back.”

Turning the corner into the kitchen, Liz approached Mr. Kaplan.

Having already found the kit fully visible on top of the refrigerator, Mr. Kaplan had moved on to raiding the cabinets.

Cursing the open concept floor plan, keeping her voice low, Elizabeth asked. “About that proto -”

Mr. Kaplan stonewalled her. “ - What protocol?”

The kit, a jar of peanut butter, a spoon, and one of Tom's post workout sports drinks in hand, Mr. Kaplan walked away.

Elizabeth sighed. After adding peanut butter to the grocery list already started on the dry erase board attached to the refrigerator, she followed after her.

 

_tbc_


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

 

Trying to hand the bottle back, Reddington made a puckered face and complained. “This tastes awful!”

“I don't care what it tastes like. It's full of electrolytes. Drink it.”

While Reddington started on the peanut butter, Elizabeth got down to business. “I know you don't want to believe it, but all the evidence points to Dembe.”

“How many times do I have to say it? It's _not_ Dembe!”

Gently, Liz pointed out. “Dembe is on the run. He's not answering his phone. He hasn't checked in.”

“Dembe is running _to_ something, not _from_ me.” Reddington insisted.

“If Dembe isn't the one that poisoned you than why didn't he get sick too? Just because the poison was tailored specifically to you, doesn't mean it wouldn't have made him sick too.”

Whether it was having Mr. Kaplan back by his side or the little bit of food in his belly, Reddington was starting to get back his cheek. “I feel like I am talking to Donald! The answer to that should be pretty obvious – he didn't get sick because he didn't drink any of the poison.”

“But _why_ didn't he drink any? How did he know _not_ to?” Liz asked.

“He didn't drink because he was driving that night and while he plans to be an organ donor in the near future, he wasn't planning on being one that night! Dembe would _never_ betray me!”

“I bet you used to say that exact same thing about Mr. Kaplan – that she would never betray you.”

“And she never has!”

Liz was floored. “ _Okay_... What do you call helping me fake my death to get away from you?”

“Mr. Kaplan didn't betray me. What Mr. Kaplan did was a fulfillment of my wishes.”

Liz raised an eyebrow. “You wanted me dead?”

“Mr. Kaplan was doing exactly what I asked her to. You were in danger. She was trying to protect you. To do it ... she put your safety over my interests.”

Gaping, Liz couldn't even begin to formulate a response to that. She glanced Mr. Kaplan's way to gauge her reaction. Liz was pretty sure she caught the end of an eye roll.

Still, Mr. Kaplan sided with Reddington on the Dembe topic. “It's not Dembe. I may not know what has been going on here the past few weeks or months, but _that_ I know. Now … why don't the two of you tell me exactly what _has_ been going on since I've been gone?”

 

_tbc_

 


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

 

It didn't take long to get Mr. Kaplan up to speed.

“It seems like all of your business troubles are tied to that one account – the one used to pay Stone.”

Reddington agreed. “Isabella was told about the cruise liner deal. She stopped that by killing Zack Smoll who was in the process of moving money out of that account into the new one he set up to pay for the liners. The same account was used to pay for my dealing with Stratos. Even the bonds stolen from my courier and used to frame Justin Sperry were purchased with the account that paid Isabella.

Liz chimed in. “So from the sounds of it, all of the information Isabella Stone claimed to have received about your operations could have come from a person with access to that account.”

Reddington nodded.

Getting the dry erase board from the kitchen, Liz erased the grocery list. “Who had access to the account that paid Isabella Stone?”

“There are 11 people who had access to that account – the 11 people I invited to dinner that night.” Reddington listed them off so Elizabeth could write them down.

“What about Dembe?”

Grudgingly, Reddington admitted. “12 with Dembe.”

Just trying to be thorough and considering it a fairly safe hunch, Liz corrected him. “13.” She glanced apologetically in Mr. Kaplan's direction before adding her name to the end of the list.

13 was too many. Frowning, Liz asked. “Do any of them stand out to you as more likely than the others?”

“When I called the meeting, Marvin was the only one who didn't show up. The others all came.”

“Of course they did. Whoever did this isn't a fool. Running is an obvious sign of guilt.”

Mr. Kaplan had a point.

Liz made another. “Dembe _is_ on the run.”

“Have you spoken to his daughter? Seen if he's checked in with her?” Mr. Kaplan asked.

Liz was surprised. She didn't know Dembe had a daughter. It hadn't occurred to her that Dembe might have a life outside of Reddington.

“No. I don't want to alarm her. She has enough on her plate with Elle being sick. We save Dembe and then he can decide what if anything he wants to tell her.”

Growing frustrated with Reddington's refusal to accept the obvious answer before him, Liz looked at the list again. “Why would you let so many people have access to the same account?”

Reddington grimaced and admitted. “In hindsight … I should have done more to compartmentalize.”

 

_tbc_

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

_Chapter 7_

 

Liz asked a question. “The cruise line you were trying to bail out, you said one of your competitors was able to buy it out from under you because your money didn't get there in time. Who was the competitor?”

“Baldur Magnusson but I don't believe he's involved – and my money didn't just not get there _in_ _time_ \- it didn't get there _at all_. Smoll was in the process of moving the money to a new account to pay for the ships – one that couldn't be traced back to me. The 250 million dollars in bitcoins that were in transit went poof along with Smoll. No one knows what happened to the money.”

Mr. Kaplan looked skeptical. “I find that very hard to believe. According to whom?”

“Abe.”

Mr. Kaplan raised an eyebrow. “Smoll's second in command who conveniently enough received a promotion? Has Brimley vetted his story?”

“Smoll and Abe have been partners for years. They've been best friends since before college. You really think Abe set Zack up to be murdered – and murdered in such a monstrous way?”

Mr. Kaplan didn't sound as sentimental as Reddington. “I can think of 250 million reasons why Abe might have done it.”

Mr. Kaplan asked another question. “Smoll was killed at a massage parlor in the middle of the day?”

“Not exactly the happy ending he went in there hoping for.” Reddington acknowledged.

“You said Natalie Luca was sent to kill him and given instructions on when she would find him at that specific location. I take it Smoll going there was a regular occurrence?”

“Smoll was by no means a saint, but he was as loyal a customer as they come. Apparently, he had a standing appointment there twice a week.”

Mr. Kaplan's eyebrow arched again. “A loyal customer, but not a very loyal _husband._ Which brings us up to 250 million and _1_ reasons. If you dropped in on Mrs. Smoll to pay your condolences, I wonder who else might be there to comfort the grieving widow?”

Reddington didn't look pleased. “I'll ask Teddy to have a chat with him, but Abe didn't know about the apartment. _None_ of my money people knew about the apartment.”

Trying to contribute something, Elizabeth made a suggestion. “Okay so let's make a list of people who did know about the apartment.”

“It's a very short list.”

Liz made a new column. “Who knew about the apartment?”

Reddington answered. “Dembe and Kate. Oh and you.”

“Elizabeth did fake her death to try to get away from you. That didn't work. Logically ... killing you would be the next step.”

Liz didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if Mr. Kaplan was being serious.

Reddington looked her over, but dismissed that idea too. “I don't see Lizzie having it in her.”

“Never underestimate what a mama bear will do to protect her family.”

Before Liz could stutter a response, Mr. Kaplan was moving on.

“Who else are you leaving off, Raymond?”

When Reddington denied there was anyone else, Mr. Kaplan prompted him. “The cat.”

Liz didn't understand, but Reddington seemed to be mulling the idea over.

“I do speak freely in front of her and she can be a bit of a diva, but I just don't see her pulling it off. That whole not having thumbs – it's very limiting. Besides, she's much more the Godfather type - leaving a mouse head in my bed while I'm sleeping.”

Mr. Kaplan gave him a look of irritation. “Since I have been gone, who has been feeding her and taking care of her when you're away? More often than not, when you are away so is Dembe.”

“My neighbor, but she has no idea who I really am. She thinks I'm a traveling sales rep.”

“How difficult would it have been for one of your accountants to have discovered the apartment by following the paper trail?” Liz asked.

Reddington dismissed the idea. “Impossible. I don't use money from the account that paid Isabella Stone or any of my other laundering accounts to pay for the expenses relating to the apartment – at least not directly. I use cash to buy money orders.”

“Do you ever bring women -”

“- No.” Reddington cut Liz off.

“Maybe someone followed you.”

“That apartment _was_ my sanctuary. Knowledge of its existence was closely guarded.”

“Is there _anyone_ else who knew about the apartment, had access to the account and knew all the details about your operation that were given to Isabella Stone?”

“Just Dembe and myself.” Mr. Kaplan answered for him.

Liz frowned. Truly, she didn't want to believe it anymore than Reddington did, but … “Reddington, I know you don't want to hear it -”

“-Then don't say it.”

Liz was out of ideas.

“When you eliminate the impossible -” Taking the dry erase marker, Mr. Kaplan went in a line crossing off Dembe's name, her own and Liz's. “- whatever you are left with however improbable is the answer.”

“Been reading some classics in our retirement, have we?” Reddington asked.

“Going out of my mind with boredom would be a more accurate assessment.” She circled his neighbor. “Just because you didn't tell her doesn't mean she doesn't know.”

“She's a sweet, little old lady.”

Mr. Kaplan's raised eyebrow and head tilt said it all.

Reddington protested. “She wouldn't have had access to the bank account.”

Mr. Kaplan's tone held a mixture of tolerance and pity. “You're not considering all of the possibilities, Raymond. You're fixated on the idea of o _ne_ person who could have done it all.“

“You think it's a conspiracy? You think the Cabal is behind this?” Liz asked.

“No.” Reddington looked grievously wounded. “She's suggesting multiple of my people have betrayed me.”

“I think we should bring her in for a little chat with Brimley.”

Reddington didn't look convinced. He shook his head. “She's in Florida. She turned snowbird this year. She's been gone since Thanksgiving.”

Mr. Kaplan's head whipped in his direction. “Then _who_ has been taking care of the cat since Thanksgiving?”

There was a barely perceptible hesitation before Reddington's denial. “No one. It hasn't been necessary.”

By the narrowing of her eyes, Liz got the idea that Mr. Kaplan didn't believe him. “Raymond -”

Liz's phone began to ring. Trying to decide if the interruption was worth it, she pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. It was no help. BLOCKED CALLER

“Keen.”

“Elizabeth -”

He only got out one word, but she would recognize that distinctive voice anywhere. “Dembe! Where are you?!”

 

_tbc_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

 

_Chapter 8_

 

Liz's phone began to ring. Trying to decide if the interruption was worth it, she pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. It was no help. BLOCKED CALLER

“Keen.”

“Elizabeth -”

He only got out one word, but she would recognize that distinctive voice anywhere. “Dembe! Where are you?!”

Liz had to stand and move away as Reddington reached for the phone.

Dembe ignored her question and sounding deeply morose, he asked his own. “Did Raymond ever regain consciousness? Did he suffer?”

“Dembe, you need to come back. With you not here -” She hoped he couldn't hear the shame in her voice. “ - people are starting to think that you are the one responsible.”

“I _am_ responsible for Raymond's death. What happened to Raymond was my fault.”

A little stunned, Liz asked for some clarification. “Your fault as in you should have noticed the colorless, odorless, tasteless poison in the drink you poured for Reddington? Or your fault as in you _put_ the poison into the bottle?”

“This all started with Kate's death. Her murder. I should have done something to stop Raymond. I didn't and now we must all suffer for my sin of omission.”

“Yeah, well about that … we should talk.” She had to dodge Reddington as he again grabbed for the phone. “Just tell me where you are so I can come get you.”

“I can't tell you that, Elizabeth. But there are things that I can tell you. Things that Raymond should have told you, but he never did.”

Liz caught her breath. “I'm listening.”

Having had enough, Reddington shouted so he could be heard. **“I'M NOT DEAD!”**

“Ray-mond?” The first half of the word came out joyous. The second half … not so much.

There was a moment of shocked silence before the line went dead.

 

_tbc_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Set post 'The Apothecary' pre "Dembe Zuma'. Became au with the airing of 'Dembe Zuma'

 

_Chapter 9_

 

The phone rang again. This time, the number wasn't blocked. This time Reddington was too fast for her. He snatched the phone from her to answer himself. He put it on speaker phone.

_“Dembe?!”_

Liz used Reddington's phone to call Aram. “Aram, I need you to triangulate a location for the number calling my phone NOW! Alert the team and call me back as soon as you have a location.”

“I'm sorry, Raymond, but it had to be done.”

Reddington sounded mystified. “ _Why Dembe?”_

“I told Elizabeth - it all goes back to Kate. I should have done something to stop you. To make you see reason. I didn't and now _this_ is how I must atone.”

_“By killing me?”_

“Yes.”

“If you were the one that poisoned me, why did you take me to get help?”

“I didn't expect it to be like that. For you to be in so much pain.”

“Then why not just _shoot me_ – put me out of _my misery_?”

Dembe didn't have an answer for that.

“You are my brother, Raymond. I loved you – I still do, but someone has to put an end to you. Raymond, I am coming for you.”

Please do.” Reddington responded without a hint of sarcasm or aggression. “In fact, let me give you the address.”

There was a click as Dembe again ended the call.

 

_tbc_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

Elizabeth looked to Reddington and Mr. Kaplan.

Letting the phone just hang there in his hand, Reddington looked utterly devastated. Liz thought he finally believed.

Eyes shiny, Mr. Kaplan had her lips set in a thin, grim line.

Liz didn't know what to say, but as the silence dragged on, she felt she had to say something. “I'm sorry. I know you didn't want to believe it was Dembe. _I_ didn't want to believe it was Dembe.”

Eyes downcast, Reddington gave a slight shake of the head and persisted. “It's not Dembe.”

Liz blinked. “Were we listening to the same phone call? _He just confessed!_ He threatened you again!”

Mr. Kaplan said it as well. “It's not Dembe.”

Liz couldn't believe what she was hearing. Dembe had just confessed, but still Mr. Kaplan and Reddington were in agreement.

“How can you say that?”

Mr. Kaplan explained. “He's protecting someone.”

Liz couldn't imagine. _“Who?”_

“Isabella.”

Liz dismissed the idea. “Isabella Stone is in custody. She couldn't have poisoned Reddington – unless you think she put the poison in place before she got caught? But _why_ would Dembe protect her?”

Still with that crestfallen expression, Mr. Kaplan corrected her. “Not Isabella Stone. Isabella Zuma.”

 

_tbc_

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

Aram apologized. “I'm sorry I don't have a more exact location for you. The phone pinged multiple towers during the call.”

“Like he was using some kind of a program to somehow mask where the call was coming from?”

“No, like he was traveling at a very fast speed. As soon as the call ended, he turned the phone off so it couldn't continue to be traced.”

“Thanks Aram. Keep checking to see if he turns his phone on again.”

Putting away her phone, Liz turned the corner back into the living room to find Reddington and Mr. Kaplan deep in discussion.

Looking at them, Liz had a niggling feeling that it had been a mistake stepping out of the room to take the call from Aram. Saying nothing, she held still at the edge of the room so she could try to listen in without drawing their attention .

“I know it, Raymond, but I still need to hear you say it.”

Reddington put his hand over Mr. Kaplan's. “It's already been forgiven. There will be no repercussions.”

“Alright dearie.” Mr. Kaplan squeezed his hand and stood. “I best be off.”

“Wait! What? Where are you going? You can't leave!” Liz moved more properly into the room. She turned to Reddington. “You started having Dembe's daughter look after your cat once your neighbor left. That was how she knew about the apartment and got in with the poison. I put together that much, but we need to come up with a plan.”

“We already did. While you were in the kitchen.” Reddington replied nonchalantly.

_Definitely_ a mistake, Liz realized as she rushed to the door to try to block Mr. Kaplan from leaving. “Where is she going? And to do what?”

As Liz stood with her back solidly against the door Mr. Kaplan wanted to open, Mr. Kaplan looked back towards Reddington.

He rolled his eyes. “Lizzie, you do know that Mr. Kaplan would have no difficulty ... _moving_ you.”

Now Mr. Kaplan got to roll her eyes. “ _Or_ Raymond, you could take this as an opportunity to start trying to be more open with Elizabeth about things.”

Liking that idea a whole lot better on so many levels, Liz agreed. “Yes! That! What's the plan?”

Reddington rolled his eyes again, but answered. “Baz is picking up Abe and delivering him to Mr. Brimley. Someone a little more subtle – Marvin – is going to go visit Mrs. Smoll and keep her company with some fake life insurance payout paperwork on Zack until Brimley decides if he would like to make her acquaintance as well.”

“What about Dembe and his daughter? He's still in the country. Do you have a picture of his daughter and granddaughter? I can have the team alert the airports, the train and bus stations - Maybe set up road blocks -”

“- Yes, you do that.” Reddington readily agreed. “That will be a nice bit of busy work for Donald and Harold. Completely useless, but it will keep them out of our way. Dembe and Isabella, they're not going to try to get away. They know they can't.”

Mr. Kaplan explained it more clearly for Liz. “Elle can't go on the run – she can't go into hiding with a new identity. Her medical condition would make her too easy to find unless they withhold treatment which they can't and won't do because it would kill her.”

Liz turned to Reddington. “So if we're right, if Isabella did this, now Dembe doesn't have a choice. He has to come for you.”

“He has a choice. Everyone has a choice.” Reddington looked towards Mr. Kaplan. “Sometimes people just don't choose wisely.”

Liz wasn't sure if his words and his look of consternation were for Mr. Kaplan's choice to betray him or for his own choice regarding how to deal with her betrayal.

“Do we have any idea why Dembe's daughter would try to kill you?”

Reddington shook his head.

“How are we going to find them?”

“We're not going to try. We're going to get them to come to us. Both of them.”

“How? And where is Mr. Kaplan going?”

Mr. Kaplan explained. “Dembe and Isabella may have both turned off their phones, but there is someplace that will have a working number for Isabella ...”

 

_tbc_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

 

Waiting at the hospital in the Pediatric Oncology unit, Liz asked. “Dembe's daughter, won't she suspect something?”

Grimly, Mr. Kaplan answered. “She'll suspect it but she'll still come. She won't risk Elle's health.

Liz had been surprised at how accommodating the hospital staff had been to Reddington's request for a private room – until she saw the plaque in the hall listing the names and levels of benefactors. Nick's Pizza was at the top of the list.

Reddington's phone rang. Looking at it, he frowned. “It's Brimley.”

When he made no move to answer it, Liz took it for him. She stepped out into the hall.

_OOO_

“At college, Abe was in the same Statistics class as the future Mrs. Smoll. Trying to work his way up to asking her out on an actual date, he invited her to study for their midterm at the local coffee shop. Zack, his better looking, far more charismatic best friend, happened to drop in and that was that. Abe has been quietly pining away after Zack's wife ever since. He was tired of seeing the way Zack treated her.”

Reddington said it as a statement not a question. “The philandering.”

Mr. Kaplan didn't look pleased to have been proven right.

Liz continued. “He claims Zack's wife had no involvement. Brimley is going to keep pushing him on the topic to be sure.”

“And Izzie?”

Liz hesitated seeing how much this was hurting Reddington and Mr. Kaplan. Reluctantly, she answered. “According to Abe, this all started with her approaching him.”

Neither of the two said anything.

This time, Liz was the one that tried to come up with excuses. “Maybe it's not what it looks like. Didn't Solomon once try to get to you by threatening Dembe's -”

Mr. Kaplan excused herself. “- I'm going to get some air.”

Liz didn't know what to say. Apparently, neither did Reddington.

They just watched Mr. Kaplan cross the hall to step out into the solarium that gave the sick children and their families an opportunity for some sunlight.

_OOO_

Approaching the nurse's station with her mother, the little girl spotted Reddington. Letting go of her mother's hand, before the woman could stop her, the little girl ran straight to him.

Reddington scooped her up in his arms and squeezing her tightly, he showered her with kisses.

The little girl giggled.

Her mother didn't look pleased to see him. Far from it. The young woman more stated it than asked. “You know.”

Unable to form any words, Reddington just nodded and continued to shower Dembe's granddaughter with affection.

“There's nothing wrong with my daughter's blood work?”

With Reddington saying nothing and Mr. Kaplan nowhere in sight, Elizabeth stepped in. “I'm sorry we had to frighten you like that, but we needed to talk to you.”

“ _Talk._ Right.” Isabella grimaced. “Not in front of my baby.”

“This way.” Liz tried to lead her to the little room usually reserved for doctors to tell families bad news.

“No.” Reddington finally found his voice. “It should be me.”

His eyes looking moist, Reddington asked Elle. “Will you stay here for a few minutes with my friend, Lizzie, while I talk to your mother?”

At the girl's nod, Reddington kissed her one more time before handing her to Liz.

Together, they watched Reddington enter the conference room with Dembe's daughter and close the door.

With an ominous feeling, Liz took Elle out to the solarium to find Mr. Kaplan and update her.

 

_tbc_

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

Heartbroken, Reddington started off with the same question he had asked Dembe. _“Why?”_

Why had this young woman who he had known her whole life, who he had always treated as family, tried to kill him?

Isabella answered with a question of her own. “How long was Kate with you?”

Reddington swallowed and cleared his throat. Realizing where this was going, he nodded. “For more than thirty-five years.”

“Longer than I've been alive. Longer than you've known my father.” Izzie pointed out with a sad expression.

Reddington nodded. “Your father …” He had to clear his throat again before he could manage his next question. “... he told you about Kate?”

 _“He didn't have to.”_ Isabella's reply was both anguished and defiant.

“When Luli died my father was sad. _You were sad._ But you could talk about her. You said that she had died. Neither of you would say how, but you would _talk_ about her – about the good times.

“Kate drops out of sight, out of contact, and no one sounds an alarm? You don't go looking for her? You don't say anything about her?

“If something happened to her on a job for you, you would have done something for her – a wake, a gravestone. Your silence said it _all._ You did something _to_ her!”

Having no defense, Raymond said nothing.

“I had to do something to get my father away from you before something happened and you turned on him too!”

Raymond nodded his understanding. “So you decided to kill me.”

Isabella didn't look happy with her decision – far from it. “My father loves you. We all do. He would do anything for you. He would never leave you by choice.

“I love my father. I need my father. You put him in constant danger. You put us all in danger. My baby was kidnapped and poisoned because someone wanted to get to you. My father had to trade himself to get her back. He's been shot and beaten more times than I can count because of you! My mother died because of you!”

At that last charge, Reddington was genuinely baffled. “Your mother died in a car accident.”

“Did she?” Isabella asked sounding genuinely unsure.

He shook his head. “I had nothing to do with it. Sometimes an accident is just an accident.”

“It's so hard to tell sometimes with you.” Isabella admitted. “That doesn't change the rest. Kate was family. Like my father, she would never have betrayed you. She would never have sold you out.”

“No, she wouldn't.” Reddington agreed looking down at his hands ashamed.

“So why is she getting the Newton Phillip treatment – just disappearing with no explanation and no one commenting on it? Why does my father get that haunted look in his eyes every time I mention her name? Where is Kate? What happened to her? What did you do to her?”

Raymond tried to put together words. “I ... Kate … I -”

“- Nothing. I'm right here.”

Raymond looked up. His head down, he had missed the door opening.

Turning in her seat, Izzie's eyes widened and her hand went to cover her mouth. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. “Kate?”

Kate had to hand Elle off to him so she could hold a crying, shaking Izzie instead. “Oh my God! What have I done?”

“Why is mommy crying?” Elle asked him. “Do I have to have more tests?”

“No sweetheart.” Raymond stroked Elle's hair and assured her. “Mommy is crying because she missed Kate. We all did. But now Kate is back.”

_tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Again written after the Apothecary and before the airing of Dembe Zuma. Certainly not how things ended up playing on the show, but hopefully you'll agree it made sense.


	14. Chapter 14

 

Having arrived back in the room with Mr. Kaplan in time to hear Dembe's daughter all but confess, a beyond worried Liz followed Reddington as he left the room.

“What are you going to do to her?”

His backside up against the wall, his upper body leaned forward with his hands on his legs, looking like he was trying to catch his breath after a long run, Reddington shook his head. “Nothing.”

“ _Nothing_ nothing or nothing you're going to tell me about?”

“Abe, I'm going to kill. Zack's wife too if she was in on it, but _Izzie?”_ Reddington shook his head again. “She's Dembe's daughter. I've known her her entire life. Nothing. Like I told Kate back at your apartment – there will be no repercussions. It's already forgiven.”

Just like Liz had, Dembe's daughter was getting a pass. Which just left -

Reddington stepped back into the room. “Izzie, call your father. Tell him to come home.”

Isabella managed to tear her gaze away from Mr. Kaplan to answer Reddington. She looked troubled.

“I can't. I don't have a way to get a hold of him. He called me from a payphone on the road. He said he got rid of his phone so it couldn't be used to trace his location. He said he would call with a new number, but he hasn't called yet. I left him a note at the house that we were coming here.”

Liz didn't like the sound of that. “So Dembe is still gunning for you. We need to stop him before he gets here.”

“No.” Reddington told her. “We don't. Let him come.”

_OOO_

Raymond was sitting in a chair by the exit to the hospital solarium admiring the view when he felt the press of cold metal against the back of his neck.

Liz had been worried that Dembe would try to take the shot from a distance without a word. Red hadn't been.

Not wanting to cause Dembe to act rashly, Raymond didn't try to turn around even as Dembe put a hand on his shoulder.

“I'm sorry, Raymond.”

“I'm sorry too, Dembe. More than you'll ever know. More than I hope you ever have to know. I know what it's like to do something because you feel like you have no other option and then regret it – _woefully_.”

“You are my brother, but she is my daughter. You and I, we brought this down on ourselves. You know that.”

“I do know that, Dembe. You are right, but before you pull that trigger, do us both a favor and look out that window.”

He could tell the second Dembe looked through the window into the garden and found Lizzie and Izzie sitting at the little table with Elle perched on Kate's lap. The pressure of the cold metal against his neck went slack.

Raymond turned to see the expression of pure shock on Dembe's face.

“Sometimes, my friend, against all odds, we get a second chance.”

 

_Epilogue to Follow_

 

 


	15. Epilogue

 

 

Epilogue

The dog started to whine and bark even before the knock at the door.

Leaving the table, he picked up his rifle on the way to the door.

“Nice doggie. Nice doggie.” The man at the door put his hands up in surrender as the dog continued his low, menacing growl punctuated by the occasional snarl.

He let the city slicker stew for a minute before snapping his fingers to get the dog to go to its bed.

“He's not too fond of strangers on account of we don't get a lot of visitors.”

“No, but I bet you get enough. My name is Marvin Gerard.” Marvin offered his hand to shake.

He just stared at it and him until Gerard took it back.

Looking around, Gerard added less than convincingly. “You have a … lovely … home.”

The man wore a fancy suit and a pair of expensive hiking boots that were so new one still had the little plastic loop that had held the tag.

“You look a little lost, Marvin Gerard.”

“I bet I do, but I am actually _exactly_ where I am suppose to be. A friend drew me a map.”

“Someone drew you a map and told you to come here?” He tightened his grip on his rifle in a menacing gesture. “That doesn't sound like much of a friend to me.”

This fellow didn't seem to scare easily – at least not now that the dog wasn't nipping at him anymore. This Marvin Gerard smiled and wagged a finger in his direction. “It's a mutual friend of ours. She warned me that you could be a bit prickly at first. Maybe we should get down to business. She sent me with some papers for you to sign.”

Putting his briefcase down on the table, Gerard briskly opened it and took out a sheaf of papers, but then hesitated. “Did you have your own attorney that you would like to call to review the papers? If so, I can wait.”

Gruffly, he took the stack of papers. This city slicker might not think much of him, but not only could he read, he could read legalese.

He had only to look at the top of the front page to know what he was looking at. “This area is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. You can't sell me public lands.”

“True - public lands, no and almost all the land around here is in a preserve – but not _all_. There is a few miles from here - entirely surrounded by conservation land – a single buildable acre not owned by the government. That particular acre was owned by one family and passed down generation to generation for over a hundred and fifty years before being sold to a client of mine. _That_ is the acre described in this contract. That acre was recently given by my client to a mutual friend of all of ours who is now gifting it to you.”

He stared at Marvin Gerard quite skeptically.

“I think you'll remember the spot. It's where you first encountered our mutual friend. Like a Lannister, Mr. Kaplan always pays her debts.”

When he continued to just stare at him, Gerard's smile finally faltered a bit. “You probably don't get HBO out here, do you? No matter.”

Marvin took out a pen. “Now if you would just sign here. Here. And here. Initial here. Here. And ...”

_Finis_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely not the way things ended up playing out on the show, but if you stuck with it this far please do leave a little feedback.


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